


just what the doctor ordered

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Community: comment_fic, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Het, Romance, get well soon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 07:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8436358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Caitlin brings Joe some unusual medicine.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Theme: food glorious food  
> Prompt : Any, any otp, get well soon cookies

The sound of high heels clacking off the tiles of STAR Labs would have clued Joe in on who was approaching his bed, even if he hadn't recognised the footfall, which he did. So when he opened his eyes to see Caitlin standing at the door, the only surprise was the look on her face, the wide eyes, the bite of her lip. "I didn't mean to wake you-" she began and he waved his hand, cutting off her words. 

"Just resting my eyes." He lifted his arm, glanced at his watch. "Why are you still here? You should have gone home hours ago." Because he'd chased Barry off long ago, ordering him to take a worried Iris home and make sure she got some rest. Jesse had been just as eager to take Wally out and take his mind off things. He'd just assumed everyone else had gone too, certainly this late. Then he realised that she was wearing her coat, that an oversized purse was on her shoulder and it made a little more sense. "Checking up on me before you leave?" 

He was smiling, expected one in return. He didn't get it. "Sure," she said, sliding the purse down to the ground, walking over to him and poking at the bandages that were wrapped around his waist. "How does it feel?" 

Joe lifted an eyebrow. "Like I got shot and cracked my ribs." She narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips and it was probably his imagination that the room seemed to get a little bit colder. "Caitlin, I'm fine, seriously... You should go home, get some rest..." Because this close he could see the dark circles under her eyes, the pallor of her skin. It wasn't like she'd been having an easy time of it lately and that was before she'd had to perform emergency surgery on him earlier. "You've earned it." 

Caitlin sighed, shook her head. "I've been home." Her eyes were trained firmly on his wrist as she took his pulse. "Couldn't sleep." 

"That been happening a lot?" It was a shot in the dark but a good one and she nodded. 

"I keep dreaming of her." She didn't have to say who she was referring to; ever since they'd found out about her abilities, her Earth-2 doppelgänger had been on everyone's mind. "It's got so I don't even want to go to sleep." She blinked, like she was surprised she'd said that much. "So I came back... thought I might make myself useful here. Besides, I brought you something." 

Joe was taken aback at that. "You didn't have to-" He stopped when he saw her taking a Tupperware lunch box out of her purse, memories of something that Barry had said last week coming back to him, something about the way Caitlin was spending the time when she wasn't able to sleep. "Did you bring me some home baking?" 

She didn't need to answer, because the aroma that filled the air when she lifted the lid did it for her. Joe's stomach rumbled and his mouth started watering and when she sat down beside him, laid the box on his knee, the cookies inside looked as good as they smelled. "These are chocolate chip... These have macadamia nuts, so I hope you're not allergic... and these are snickerdoodles. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I brought a little of everything." 

He hardly knew what to reach for first but the chocolate chip ones won him over and he reached for one, took a bite and instantly closed his eyes. He chewed and let out a little moan and the bed shifted as Caitlin moved. When he opened his eyes, she was staring at him, concern writ large on her face and he instantly realised what she was thinking. "Oh, these are good." It was the fastest way he could think of to allay her fears. It also happened to be the truth. 

"Yeah?" She looked pleased with herself, cheeks taking on a pleasant flush. Her hand reached for one and he pulled the box away, only half in jest. It made her laugh though and, begrudgingly, he let her take one. 

He swallowed, took another bite which was just as good as the first, rich and sweet and buttery, a little bit of heaven on his tongue. "Should I be eating this much butter and sugar?" he wondered aloud, mindful of his own doctor's lectures of the importance of a man of his age taking care of himself, before coming to his own conclusion. "You know what, forget I asked that, I don't care." 

There was another happy laugh from Caitlin. He didn't think he'd ever heard one before, let alone two in such quick succession. "I'll write you a note." 

"The recipe will do fine." They shared a smile, then a different idea hit him. "Or you come to dinner at our place... I'll cook, you bring dessert." 

Caitlin broke a piece off her cookie, raised it to her lips thoughtfully. "It is a while since we've all done that..." 

Joe nodded. "Then it's a date." Realising how that sounded, he hastily backtracked. "As long as everyone else if free, of course." 

"Of course," Caitlin blinked, looked flustered and Joe fought the urge to screw up his face with everything he had - the last thing he'd wanted to do was make her uncomfortable. 

Joe finished his cookie, reached for a snickerdoodle but it turned out Caitlin had had the same idea. Their fingers met as they reached for the same one and when they did, a shiver that had nothing to do with cold and everything to do with electricity ran up Joe's spine. His eyes met Caitlin's, saw them dark and dilated. She bit her bottom lip and he watched his hand, like it belonged to someone else, reach up and cup her cheek. Her eyes fluttered shut as his thumb swept up and down and he leaned forward, as much as strapping and stitches would allow, thankful when she leaned forward to meet his lips with hers. 

The kiss was short and sweet, but Joe still felt it in every single nerve ending, in every fibre of his being. When he drew back, looked into Caitlin's eyes again, he knew he wasn't the only one. 

"You know..." Caitlin said eventually, "if everyone else is there, we'd actually have to share the cookies." 

It was an excellent point, in more ways than one. "Well, we can't have that, can we?" Caitlin shook her head, face oh so serious, but her eyes were dancing. 

"So.,. maybe just the two of us then?" she suggested and he chuckled as he drew her close again. 

"Sounds like just what the doctor ordered."


End file.
